Blog 13 - 10 Hours Mentorship Check-In

I love this place. 

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?

I am doing my mentorship at the Game Innovation Lab, located on the campus of the University of Southern California. 

2.   Who is your contact?  What makes this person an expert?

Elizabeth Swensen and Sean Bouchard are both game designers and research associates at USC, both of whom are staff in the lab and educators to game design students. Both Elizabeth and Sean attended USC and shared some classes together, both receiving MFAs (Masters of Fine Arts) before going on to work as staff in the lab. Aside from creating incredible work under USC Games, they're also professors within the program. 

Tracy Fullerton is the director of the Game Innovation Lab at USC, as well as a game designer and professor in the Interactive Media Division of USC. Being the director of the lab of this division, she has been involved with numerous projects at USC over the years, working as a game designer or faculty adviser for said projects.These projects include several titles such asThe Night Journey and Walden, among many other impressive works. Before her work at USC, Tracy has been involved with several other game developers and interactive studios, including Spiderdance and R/GA Interactive, both of which she was the founder and founding member of, respectively.


3.   How many  hours have you done during the school year? (Summer Mentorship Hours and Mentorship Hours should be reflected separately in your Senior Project Hours log located on the right hand side of your blog).

48 hours total, including both Summer hours and School Year hours. 


4.   Succinctly summarize what you did, how well you and your mentor worked together, and how you plan to complete the remaining hours.  

When we go to mentorship, oftentimes Sean and Elizabeth tell us all about a Really Cool Thing that is going on on USC campus, always regarding the games program. Sometimes, that includes viewing current Game Program students recent works, sitting in on classes, participating in activities normally reserved for the Games students, and more. It's all very much a learning experience.

As for how well I work with my mentors: they're awesome. Sean, Elizabeth, and Tracy are amazing people. We see Sean and Elizabeth more often, simply because Tracy is a pretty busy person (when we do see her, we are in awe, mostly 'cause she's that cool). I'm very comfortable with Sean and Elizabeth. I always see them every mentorship session, and they're very easy to work with. Aside from being great sources of knowledge and information, they're really great people, and it's fun to learn from them. 

As for the rest of my hours, I plan to continue going to the Game Innovation Lab regularly and learning from my variety of experiences there. I've had some pretty incredible education experiences so far, so I'm excited to learn more. There is also potential to sit in on a Introductory Design class in the program, so that's definitely possible, as well. 

Blog 12 - Holiday Project Update

Writing is not only an exercise of the mind, it's an exercise of patience. 

In other words, writing is really hard sometimes. 

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

Over the course of Winter Break, I've been working on further expanding the current world, characters, and story I have set as some of the main creative design features of my Independent Component. I've spent some time drafting my story, designing characters and their roles to be seen in the game, and crafting the overall setting of the world. It's very much like the creative writing process-- planning, planning, and more planning. There's been research done, of course-- I've looked into how stories, characters, and setting all play significant roles in crafting a positive game experience for players, and I'm adopting what I've learned into my planning processes. 

I've also tinkered a bit with programming, specifically C++ and HTML, though I'm not sure if I want to directly use either of these programming languages to create my game, or create the game through other means. It's still something I'm putting some thought into-- I don't want to get too carried away from pre-production of my game and end up focusing on programming. Either way, programming is a helpful skill to have under my belt for the future.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

From my time working on my Independent Component and sifting through research, I've learned more of the heightened importance of portraying not only a likeable player character, but one that is deep, complex, and three-dimensional; it's vital that characters have and maintain characteristics that make them meaningful to players.

I've learned quite a bit about this topic from research from a book I've been looking into recently, Better Game Characters By Design: A Psychological Approach. Aside from being an incredibly interesting read, it provides a comprehensive and detailed look into why we as humans enjoy, dislike, or hold importance of a variety of character archetypes and character traits. The way we treat others, and by extension the way we view characters, is explained through psychology; the book conveys that through appealing to this psychology, it is possible to create significant and memorable game characters. 

Though the book also covers story, setting, and other creative design aspects, I've also learned from my research that I personally find characterization to be one of the most (if not the most) important design decisions in a video game. Characterization is something I'm looking forward to learning more about as I continue working on my project. 


3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?

For my third interview, I am planning to talk to Richard Lemarchand, current professor in the USC Games program. Formerly a lead designer at game developer Naughty Dog, I've been told that Mr. Lemarchand's area of expertise lies in player experience-- an area of development I am most interested in.

I believe that the player experience is majorly enhanced through creative design, but I know other design aspects (technical, creative, or otherwise) also play a role in shaping players' experience in a video game. I would like to learn more from him about what are the most important factors in enhancing player experience. I believe in doing so, I can further improve my senior project. 

Blog 11 - Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?

I'm proud of the content that I introduced in my lesson. Sort of. I think that, for the most part, what I talked about didn't completely bore the audience-- which is always quite relieving. I like seeing nodding heads during my presentation. That always gives me a little bit of confidence. 

Mostly, however, I'm proud of my content because it's something that I'm passionate about-- maybe I'm proud of it for all the wrong reasons, then, but I think I was able to transfer some of that passion into my delivery (hopefully). And in doing so, I think I was able to keep the audience's attention for a longer period of time. 

I'm also sort of proud of the fact that, upon realizing a mistake I made mid-way through my presentation, I didn't trip over my words or give the audience any signs that something was bothering me. Hopefully. I'll go into detail on that in my answer three in this blog entry, to avoid needless repetition. Anyway, I'm always a tiny bit proud of myself when I can recover from my mistakes; while I do find some shame in them, you can't put yourself down for them forever. Better to work past it and learn to accept it. 

2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you earned that grade using evidence from the component contract.

I think, based on how I performed and the information I presented, I got a P-- definitely not on the higher end, more towards the middle and lower end. I did nothing special or spectacular, so I really don't think I'm deserving of an any grade above that. I presented my research clearly, cited my sources (including my interview and mentorship), and presented a portion of the information that gathered throughout my research over the span of the last three months.

I think in terms of my presence, and not my content, I struggled a bit with eye contact. While I tried to make meaningful eye contact with members of the audience throughout the presentation, I found myself staring more towards the back of the audience than the front. I'd like to be more inclusive of my entire audience next time. As for volume, I think I hit that well enough-- volume is typically never an issue for me, as I know how to control my voice well, for the most part. It helps that I'm on the louder side, naturally, to begin with. 



3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson?  How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?

I'm aware that I forgot small pieces of my presentation for a moment, so I really wish I could go back and give myself a reminder of some sort (e.g. write it out on a sticky note, my lesson plan, etc.) to ensure that I wouldn't forget to mention a certain piece of information that I really wanted to share.

(Upon realizing that I forgot something, I felt an extreme heat rise up to my face. I don't think anyone noticed. It's a good thing I'm brown.)

Knowing that, for Lesson 2, I would use this knowledge to protect myself against future forgetfulness in the future.  For the future, I'd like to know my subject and presentation content so well, it's practically ingrained in my mind. Woven in so deeply, it'd be a crime to forget about any of my lecture content. That's the plan, at least. If things go my way, all will be well.

Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

The USC Game Innovation Lab.

The audio of my interview is located here on my blog.

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)

I am spending my mentorship time at the Game Innovation Lab located on the University of Southern California (USC). This lab functions as a workplace, primarily, with several research associates/game designers working in the lab, but a significant portion of these people are also educators in the Interactive Media Division of the USC Cinematic Arts School, where they educate game design students. 

My mentors are both educators and game designers. I spend my mentorship time with fellow senior Jessica Bui, and we spend our time in the Game Innovation Lab both shadowing and participating in educational activities that are typically  held for students in the game design program. We have the opportunity to sit in on meetings for several different design projects in the lab, as well as participate in these activities that hone our own design skills. For example, throughout our mentorship, we've re-designed a pre-existing board game, essentially creating a physical prototype of game mechanics (the game in question was Up the River). We've also created a Twine interactive story, or a story that is created on the computer that allows readers to choose which of our pre-set directions they want to take to further the story. 

Other experts in the location would include other staff and faculty in the Game Innovation Lab; these people are experts in specific areas of game design, such as animation, programming, creative design, and more. Everyone in the lab specialize in different areas of study, and are all experienced individuals. 

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you?  

While I was searching over the summer for potential mentors at small game companies and small design teams, my friend Jessica Bui stumbled across the USC Game Innovation Lab, and read into the program and its significance among game design programs across the nation.

I had come across a potential (yet unresponsive) mentor at the same time that Jessica contacted Tracy Fullerton, the director of the Game Innovation Lab at USC. She emailed Tracy all of the information regarding the senior project, how our school functions, and her personal skill level with programming and other aspects of game design. 

While I was still contacting my potential mentor (who, by the way, didn't appear very excited at the prospect of taking on an inexperienced mentor), I was in contact with Jessica, and we were both exchanging information on how our mentor searches were going. When Jessica got the confirmation that a mentorship at USC was  fine with our potential mentors, she asked if I would be willing to also mentor with her at USC. Of course, I jumped on the opportunity with her, and we've both been going to USC every other week ever since. 

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person?

 Personally, I'm quite comfortable with our mentors, Sean and Elizabeth. It is fairly easy to hold conversation with them, and they've done nothing but make Jessica and I feel welcome. Of course, as students under them who often interact with and shadow them, we dance the line between formality and casualness. While we are very polite to our mentors, we're on a first-name basis and often hold miscellaneous conversation with them. 

The director of the lab, Tracy, who is also one of our mentors, has not been around Jessica and I as often as Sean and Elizabeth, due to her busy schedule. While she is very friendly and welcoming, we have not talked in a casual setting with her as often as we have had with Sean and Elizabeth, so I typically find myself quite formal and polite with Tracy. Nonetheless, she is still a very kind person, and we still learn a lot from her. 

I've found that because I feel welcomed in the Game Innovation Lab by the staff and faculty, I'm quite comfortable in that setting. I'm not nervous or uncomfortable working and shadowing our mentors in that setting, so I feel that that comfort allows Jessica and I to focus more on our learning experiences while we're at the Lab.

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?

Sean has long-winded answers, and that was amazingly helpful-- to the point where each time I had a follow-up question for him, he managed to answer it before we could even move on to another question. It was both humorous and amazing; essentially, all of my questions for Sean were answered easily because of this ability of his.

As for improvement, I feel that I struggled in the preparation process of the interview, where I would create questions that revolved around Sean's background. I had difficulty distinguishing between questions that asking about Sean's background, and questions that fulfilled my own curiosities. I tried to overlap these two areas as best as I could, but I still felt that some of my questions fell short; thankfully, Sean's long answers provided with me with a good chunk of information, so that definitely helped make up for my mistake.

For future interviews, I will spend more time in the pre-interview process, taking more time creating my questions and reviewing them to ensure that they do what they're intended to do, as well as fill my own curiosities. 

Interview #2: Sean Bouchard

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

I have stable mentors: Tracy Fullerton, Sean Bouchard, and Elizabeth Swensen.  My mentorship with them is held at the University of Southern California Game Innovation Lab.

For this interview, I chose to interview my mentor Sean. I have already completed my interview with him. I need to transcribe it and post it here.

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.

Throughout the course of my project, I've been drawn the area of storytelling within video games. This would include worldbuilding, character creation, and plotting of a dramatic arc. World creation is an extensive process with potential for great depth-- for example, J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth (Lord of the Rings) is a broadly developed, complex fictional world that still has limitless potential to keep reader interest.

Upon creating a deep and complex world, creation of characters and the major plotline are large entities to handle, as well. As these three elements are observed in literature everywhere, research and information regarding these specific topics is easily accessible.

Beyond just storytelling, I believe the player experience throughout the game is important, as well. In relation to storytelling, I'd also like to focus on the player experience throughout the storytelling process; I'd like to ensure the story has the intended impact on players of a game. To do this, researching more in-depth on player experience is necessary; thus far, I've found potentially sufficient amounts of research on the topic.

3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?

I believe that while video game design books will definitely help me in the topic of storytelling, I also believe that works and books regarding storytelling in general will be of great use. I know that I can easily obtain these books from the vast amount of resources in the Cal Poly Pomona library, as well as my local libraries.

In terms of player experience, I believe research in more video game design books, especially those focusing on user experience and user interface, will prove helpful. I can access these books at the Cal Poly Library as well, but I can also check them out from my mentorship and the University of Southern California Library.

4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

What areas of focus in storytelling are important to emphasize in order to deliver the best player experience?

How can a game designer create a positive player experience through storytelling techniques?

Blog 8 - Independent Component 1 Proposal

I plan on doing a significant amount of drafting and planning through my preparatory process of creating a video game, including physical prototyping of potential game mechanics. Above is an example of a physical prototype in development. 

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

Over the next thirty hours, I plan to start and delve into the lengthy preparation process of creating a video game. There's quite a bit of work that goes into this kind of project, and I'd like to take a moment to explain some of the preparatory steps my mentors have recommended that I take before actually creating my game.

For Independent Component 1, I would like to focus specifically on the preparation process of the video game. Essentially, I want to be able to focus on current concepts and ideas I have for creating a fictional world and characters, as well as creating new ones. I want to extensively go through the brainstorming process to create this world, it's inhabitants, and form the story of the game. Once the planning stages of the game world and characters are creating, I want to be able to focus on planning out a plot that'd occur over the course of the game. 

Once the world-building portion of the game is completed, I want to move onto the planning and prototyping of the game mechanics (and subsequently, potential gameplay). Essentially, I want to determine and plan out how the game plays out-- which includes the type of play (sidescrolling, first person, puzzle, etc.), game interface and controls, and detail upon the intended player experience.

For clarification: I am not directly creating the video game just yet. I am spending these thirty hours in preparation for creating the game, by taking the necessary steps I listed above. 

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

Brainstorming is a lengthy process in itself-- for the creation of concepts and ideas, I will keep detailed notes and sketches regarding said concepts/ideas. As for the world-building and plotting portions of my planning, I plan to also write out and notate throughout this process: essentially, I will write all there is to write regarding the world I will create, it's inhabitants, and the story I wish to tell throughout my game. In summary, there will be written evidence of the creation of the world-building and plotting.

As for the game mechanics, I plan to begin with brainstorming for that process, as well. The brainstorming process here will too be noted and sketched throughout. I want to determine which type of gameplay and interface will not only properly deliver the intended story and emotions I want to convey in the game, but also creates an enjoyable player experience in the finalized, digital version of my game later on.

I would also like to prototype these game mechanics; to do so, I believe a physical prototype of sorts to test how the game mechanics can work out will serve my purpose just fine. Oftentimes, it is ideal and convenient to begin designing gameplay (and therefore, working out any issues with it) with physical prototypes, as they can easily be iterated and changed within seconds to suit any new ideas for game mechanics. Digital prototypes take significantly longer to create new iterations of, and often these iterations can be scrapped if the idea they are based upon just doesn't mesh well with other aspects of the planned game. Therefore, physical prototyping is the best method of prototyping to utilize here. I will also document my experience of physical prototyping through notation and pictures, which I will keep in sequential order. In doing so, any viewers can see the creation and changes my prototype will undergo.

3.  Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

What I'm doing for independent component essentially encompasses the entire planning processes of the creation of a video game. In doing so, I will need to do further research in the complexities of world-building and plotting for video games, as well as research different types of directions I can take my game mechanics. 

I'm of the belief that actively planning the foundation and mechanics of my game will help me not only explore my topic through further, specific research, but also help me explore it by allowing me to get a taste of what it's like to plan extensively for a video game. I think this opportunity is important for me to understand what it's like to truly delve into video game design as a project and potential career.

4.  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

Done. Thanks!